The artisan fishery with special nets (almadraba) placed in front of Barbate Port and used by Almadraba Fisheries Company has initiated its first catches for the bluefin tuna new campaign; therefore two week ahead of time.

The “almadraba” consists of a maze of nets and 18 bluefin tuna specimens were caught in its center initiating the new campaign. Two of the pieces weighed 274 and 217 kilos each and were the first ones sent to the Barbate to be sold at the fresh fish market.

Each tuna specimen was sold for approximately 11 euro per kilo, while the rest of the catches were sold at the national market by the Almadraba Products Company that directly distributes the product to many restaurants in Spain, which already offer this exquisite culinary dish on their menus.

Mr. Jose Diego Ramirez, manager of this company assured that those bluefin tuna were under the optimum weight average since noting that the biggest one only reached 275 kilos. Therefore, it was not yet possible to perform the traditional presentation of the first bluefin tuna weighing more than 300 kilos.

Last week, Japanese specialists were expected to arrive at Barbate, who request a specific cut style for the slicing of tuna to be sold at their markets. This will also enable to freeze the first specimens at the new facilities recently inaugurated in Barbante Port by the Counsellor of Agriculture and Fisheries Mr. Isaias Perez Saldaña. The facilities will be able to storage up to 500 tuna tons by an ultrafreezing technique which supposes important competition to the Asian vessels fishing tuna in the Barbate Area.